Hi all! I’m John and for most SpaceTweeps that know me I can be summed up in about two words: Lego and Space!
I’m here to let you know that if you (or someone in your SpaceTweep family) loves Lego bricks AND Space then you can help make more Lego Space sets a reality? Want to see a Mars Rover set? What about a model of your favorite shuttle!? Want to build a model of SpaceX’s Dragon spacecraft? Well thanks to the fine folks over at the Lego Group, they’ve created a special site and process to let anyone submit designs for a new Lego Set! If the set gets 10,0000 votes, the Lego Group will consider it (based on several criteria). If it’s selected by them for production the person(s) who submitted it will get 1% royalties form the sale of the set. One of the sets selected and taken to production has been a space one, the HAYABUSA spacecraft (http://lego.cuusoo.com/ideas/view/439)! Also a Curiosity Rover is under consideration by the Lego Group right now (http://lego.cuusoo.com/ideas/view/3431). So, if you’ve been wanting to see more real space sets on the shelves, please go over to the Lego Cuusoo site, search and vote for the sets you’d like to see and buy! Or, even better, submit you own!
Browsing the site has been known to cause people a sudden desire to go and build with their Lego bricks! I’m not responsible if you decide to take over the living room and build for a few days!
P.S. You can check out my submitted designs here -> http://lego.cuusoo.com/profile/johnmknight#projects
One of the greatest benefits of being part of the #spacetweeps community are the great events that are organized. These events are the best way to turn a space passion into a true space ambassadorship and many new friends. When joining my first #NASATweetup in 2011 the other attendees told me it would change my life, which I politely laughed away. But wow, were they right! So after #NASATweetup followed ESA/DLR #SpaceTweetup, #CNESTweetup, #AndreTweetup, #SpaceKoelsch 1-3 and a few #SpaceUps. It is great to be in the heart of the best virtual and real life community in the world! (more…)
Spurred on by @SpaceKate and her recent blog post about the talk in Pontefract by Apollo 16 Astronaut Charlie Duke, I thought I’d post something here as I’ve been thinking a lot about this the past week since the talk.
I grew up in the 80s and 90s. My parents watched the first moon landing when they were young. They can both remember it well. I, of course, wasn’t around then. I do remember they dragged me out of bed as an 8-year old boy in 1989 to watch the in-real-time repeat of the moon landings on BBC television to celebrate the 20th anniversary. But still, my connection is to the Space Shuttle, the winged space plane floating serenely above the earth, Challenger, the Hubble telescope and feats like Bruce McCandless’s first untethered MMU EVA (you’ve all seen that picture, right?). This was ‘space’ for me when I was growing up and these are the things that stick in my mind.
Now I have to be brutally honest. I had never had a particularly strong affinity with the Apollo program. While undoubtedly impressed and amazed by it’s achievements and groundbreaking place in history, and admiration for the people who made it happen in such a short time, it sat as just that. An important piece of history. As someone outside of that generation I had no personal connection with the program, the events or with that period in history. A week ago that changed.
Somewhat last-minute I found out that Charlie Duke, the tenth man to set foot on the moon alongside fellow Apollo 16 astronaut John Young, was doing an evening talk at a school in Pontefract in Yorkshire. At first I didn’t know if I could make it, some excuses started to cross my mind, but about three days before the fog seemed to clear in my mind and I heard this loud voice yell “It’s Charlie Duke, he walked on the moon!” (that’s the polite version anyway). Things were catalysed further when I found a cheap room for the night and realised it was only a modest drive from where I live. So I decided to go. Boy I’m I glad I did.
Meeting up beforehand I didn’t really know what to expect. I know the whole thing felt mighty incongruous. For those that don’t know Pontefract, it’s a small industrial town near Leeds in South Yorkshire. It’s claims to fame are having an unfeasible number of train stations (three last time I counted) for a town its size, being wedged between two major motorways and making sour liquorice sweets called Pontefract Cakes. Not much connection to space there! Still, here we were and there it was. The talk was very well organised (thanks to @Space_Lectures) and was held in a large lecture theatre at a local school. When I got in and got a seat the place was already 4/5ths full and by the time the talk started it was almost full to capacity.
What followed was an exciting, animated and enthralling account of Charlie Duke’s life up to and including the flight to the moon and his three day stay there. There are other accounts of the talk and the stories told (@SpaceKate’s blog post put it into words much better than I can) but what struck me was a man that is genuinely still excited about what he did 40 years and countless thousands of talks later, and delights in relaying the tales of his experiences to an audience. This bright, lively talk not only had me enthralled for the whole hour, it also did something else. Hearing about the experience and seeing it for myself through Charlie Duke’s words forged a connection for me to another time and place beyond my own lifetime. As any good story or tale puts you in a place beyond your own, Charlie Duke’s talk transported you to the moon, helped you understand what they did, what went through their minds, what it felt like to be there. After the talk we were lucky enough to get the opportunity to have an item autographed by Charlie Duke and (thanks to @SpaceKate) I had a lovely photo print of him on EVA on the moon ready to sign. That photo is now in a frame on the wall at home. I’ll never forget that evening.
In the days since I look back at my fond memories of the talk and feel my view of the Apollo moon landing program has changed forever. It’s gone from an interesting page in history to being something I’ve heard about first hand from an astronaut who went there and did those things. It’s changed my view of the program, of the people involved and of my feelings about it. Something that before I had little connection to I now feel some kind of personal attachment to. Suddenly I want to know more, hear more experiences and know more about it.
This is the importance of telling stories. Stories are mankind’s way of passing our knowledge of these great events down to new generations, for them to cherish and pass on again and again. “I was there” is one of our greatest assets and one of our most valuable sources of not only information but also inspiration. Charlie Duke’s story is a very special one, possibly among the most special of anyone alive today, but lots of people do amazing things and have amazing experiences and never relay their tales. Never believe that no-one is interested. There are always people willing to listen and maybe you’ll inspire someone in ways you never imagined.
Be sure to tell your story and listen to others who have a story to tell…
As September is approaching fast, it will also be almost one year ago that I attended my first SpaceTweetUp. Being ESA & DLR’s first foray herein this is all the more fitting. This is the last place where I need to explain what a SpaceTweetUp can do to a person, so not going there.
So SpaceUp Europe, that’s what I would like to talk about. To me it’s a beautiful full circle story. One of the things that immediately struck me was how a Barcamp like event would be great for this topic/crowd. Little did I now at that time that it already existed and the first SpaceUp had already been held in San Diego in 2010. So one throws up the idea but it stayed with talking at that point. The fun part is that at the same time some US SpaceTweeps that already attended a SpaceUp were also talking to some other EU SpaceTweeps about the same topic. But also here, it stayed as an idea to pick up at a later time.
The next step. At some point before #SpaceKoelsch2 some SpaceTweeps started talking about SpaceUp and doing this in Europe. At this point the 2 groups that first talked separate are now talking together, space unites once again! This was the perfect time to bring it to the table and see which traction it could gather. And traction it did gather! One week later 5 SpaceTweeps were exchanging mails and on January 23 we had our first hangout (G+ is great for this:) together. SpaceUpEU was born! The first EU organising crew consisting of @akanel (GR) @mfrissen (NL) @timmermansr (NL) @travelholic (DE) and myself @JustBe74 (BE), a real European team.
Fun and work, lots of both luckily. I think it’s fair to say none of us really knew on what journey we were embarking. Finding a location (Genk, Belgium) and date (22-23/09) primarily and secondly logistics, sponsors, legal things, set-up registration and so on. This last point bringing us to today. T-1 actually! Starting tomorrow registrations will open for the first ever SpaceUpEU. Another great milestone for us, but for sure not the last. So keep an eye out on @SpaceUpEU tomorrow to be part of it.
New York area residents: We are about to get the coolest new neighbor to ever arrive in this area. I am, of course, talking about the prototype orbiter Enterprise, the vehicle that started the wonderful long-running Shuttle Transportation System program by proving you could actually glide back to the surface of the Earth in what’s lovingly dubbed a “flying brick”.
Last week I was lucky enough to be at the Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center of the Smithsonian Air and Space Museum to see Discovery (my favorite orbiter) arrive and Enterprise move out of the home where she has delighted visitors for many years. They are things of beauty beyond words, both of them, and I’m still marveling that one will be easily accessible right in the heart of the Hudson side of Manhattan.
In Virginia, NASA hosted a #NASASocial for that event but the incredible part was how many Space Tweeps showed up for what was dubbed the “Rogue Tweetup”. Approximately 200 tweeps (from what I can gather) joined in the celebrations and had a wonderful time meeting each other or seeing friends from previous tweetups, launches, and other gatherings.
The best part of the week, in my opinion, was not the day of the transfer of Discovery to the Smithsonian, but the day she flew over both her new home and the city of DC. Images of the Shuttle Carrier Aircraft with her precious cargo over the Capitol, the Washington Monument, and other landmarks are stunning and oh, so poignant.
So, think about it: What’s the one backdrop even cooler than those landmarks? The New York City skyline!
As of now, the most accurate plans I’ve heard include flying up the Hudson River past our local landmarks like the Statue of Liberty and her future home on the Intrepid. With this in mind, tweetup ideas have been flying around and it’s time to make them official. As one tweep said, “You can either be in Manhattan and get New Jersey as the backdrop or you can be in New Jersey and get the skyline.” That made it obvious that the ideal location would be Pier A in Hoboken, easily reachable by PATH train from the city, is a major NJ Transit hub, and lacking in city tolls for anyone driving in from the suburbs and beyond (with big parking garages near the site).
The flight has been postponed several times already and is now planned for Friday, April 27th. The timing isn’t exact but I’ve been hearing it should be around 10 am – 1 pm, but Discovery was a half-hour early in DC, so I would plan to arrive between 9 and 9:30 to set up cameras and such. I will keep updating this page if things change again and with more plans as they are formed, so keep an eye on this or follow me or the hashtag #OV101toNYC on Twitter.
Let’s show this bird that New York is thrilled to have her! Sign up here so we can have a ballpark headcount and join the Facebook group if you want to discuss any further ideas. I’d like to do something to celebrate every stage of her arrival, so I will keep the group active until she is installed in her permanent home this fall, at least.
February 8th, 2010. That day will last forever in my memory. It was the day a small group of Space Tweeps gathered in a hotel in Greenbelt, MD in anticipation of the first Goddard NASAtweetup for the launch of the Solar Dynamics Observatory but realized there was no way our tweetup was going to happen due to the “Snowpocalypse”. I casually joked, “Why don’t we just drive down to Florida to watch it launch,” and the next thing you know, we were on our way. That action is precisely what makes this group different from any other I’ve been part of. We don’t just talk and tweet, we DO.
Last night AMC aired the movie Contact and it lit Twitter up with discussions that mutated into talking about the book it was based on. It turns out a lot of us either had not read it or it had been years since we had. This lead to suggestions of other great books to read and I suddenly thought, “Why don’t we have a book club?” My following tweet about the idea garnered a lot of enthusiastic responses and I’m excited to say that it’s already a reality.
After a lot of research into hosting an online book club and debates with several people about using existing social networks to facilitate it, my-bookclub.com stood out as the best option. Each club on the site gets it’s own discussion forum and chat room and every member can set up their own virtual bookshelf to share what they are reading these days as well as share in the group’s bookshelf. Most importantly, it’s completely free (minus the cost of books if you have to buy them, of course).
There is still a lot of work to be done in organizing this (e.g. how often should we have chats? How often should books be “due”?) but I have great faith that together we will develop this into something amazing and learn a lot from each other along the way.
The first book will be Contact, since it inspired the club, but we will be reading all sorts of books, fiction and non-fiction, that have to do with space and exploration. This is a great opportunity to find books you didn’t know about or just find extra motivation to read the ones you’ve been meaning to read. Anyone can suggest books and we will choose selections democratically after Contact.
Love to read about space and want to participate? Just go to http://www.my-bookclub.com/bookclub/space-tweeps-book-club/ . You will have to join the site first (or sign in using your Facebook credentials) and then make sure to click the “Join” button on the club’s page. You will be added as soon as your request is seen.
Yesterday at the South by Southwest Interactive Festival the Space Tweep Society was represented on one of the panels: How to Win Friends and Influence Space Exploration. Though I wasn’t able to be there, I could tell by the numerous positive tweets filling my stream that the panel was very well received.
Great job @harbingeralpha, @mrdoornbos, @absolutspacegrl, @chris_radcliff, and @Astro_Ron!
Here are a just a few of the tweets I found about and in response to the panel:
Canis Majoris, the “Big Dog” with open cluster galaxy M41 at its heart and the brilliant star, Sirius, pointing the way, is the appropriate constellation to watch for as we contemplate the loss of our friend and fellow Space Tweep, Colin Greenhalgh; known to us all as @OriginalColin on Twitter.
Colin lost his battle with a difficult illness on January 24, 2012 in Durham, UK. As the realization of his untimely passing spread through the Twitter community, it’s become wonderfully obvious that he was truly loved by so many and especially by his fellow Space Tweeps. Second only to his devotion to and love of dogs, especially rescued dogs, Colin returned the favor, and loved us back!
Growing up in England ensured that Colin was exposed to astronomy and related subjects at a very early age. Amateur astronomy and a working knowledge of the stars and constellations remains to this day an enviable element in British education, and that exposure nurtured an early love of all things “Space” in the young Colin. As many US tweeps have learned in their interaction with so many UK tweeps, this love of “looking up” instilled in youth, lasts a lifetime.
Before the end of the Space Shuttle Program, Colin, like the rest of us, participated enthusiastically in the excitement and electricity of following the launches and landings of the Space Shuttle in real time, with the Space Tweep Community (on at least two or more continents) through Twitter, and frequently through @SpaceFlightNow. But his love of space, fascination with space flight and knowledge of astronomy were not all that made Colin a likely member of the Space Tweeps. Colin was an all-round science geek! From Star Trek to Star Wars to “Apollo 13” to anything associated with NASA, or its counterpart the ESA; from the SDO and its warnings of oncoming CME’s and their spectacular aurora; to a deep love for and profound respect for those lucky enough to leave this planet and return to it he loved it all. That was Colin’s way.
It took the modern miracle of Twitter, and the community of tweeps who coalesced around the US Space Program and NASA, together with the tireless leadership of Jen Scheer (@flyingjenny) to bring forth the “Space Tweep Society.” It took about 5 minutes for Colin to sign up!
A charming story, shared by Colin’s beloved younger sister Ros, explains how an early adventure sealed the deal: Ros writes “ . . . I take enormous comfort knowing how much he loved the ‘company’ of his tweet friends and I was delighted when he went to London to meet some of them as this was a ‘big’ journey for him as he had very little money and rarely traveled. He couldn’t stop talking about it when he returned home. His love of Space started when he became friends with an American boy called Randy at the age of 14 (when he was visiting his Aunt in Seaham where we lived). Randy’s family invited him to Michigan for a holiday which included a trip to Florida and subsequent visit to the Space Centre. From that point on he was forever ‘hooked’ ” I think we can see that joy on Colin’s face in this photo!
One of Colin’s biggest thrills occurred this past year, when he traveled to London and met with @Craftlass, @SpaceKate, @leslieberg @herrea and @flyingjenny at The Lyric Pub. He’d traveled 270 miles south by train and, but for his lack of wings, could have flown back to Durham on his own!
His experience was memorialized by Jen’s presentation of treasured NASA patches and, of course, Space Tweep Society patches of which he was so proud! His tweet accompanying this picture was “You can’t just buy these. You have to be given them!” And he was.
Colin’s interests were so much deeper and broader than can be given proper due here. He was, first and foremost completely in love with “his” dogs! For reasons which no one can fail to understand, Colin was the trusted walker and care provider for dogs belonging to others, whether they were simply unable to spare the time, or away from Durham for days or weeks. There was almost nothing in his life that pleased him so much as to be out walking with them through the beautiful area of fields and streams not far from his home.
As you can see from the images above and the sunset following, even though he underplayed it, Colin had a talent and an eye for photography; a gift from his late father of whom he was very proud. His dad was a professional photographer and, in the days before the digital camera came along, film needed development. When he was old enough, Colin helped his dad in the darkroom and once mentioned that the experience drew him to the study of chemistry. That education eventually took him to Durham University, where he was a long time technician in the Chemistry Department.
Colin’s heart, his intelligence, his talent for snarky British humor, his progressive passions, his sheer charm – even his cranky “arse” moodiness made him so dear to so many of us. 54 years and change was not enough!
Next time you’re out and it’s clear, look up and find Canis Majoris. Colin is likely up there somewhere with his Big Dog.
~~~
After the great success of the first European #SpaceTweetup, a bunch of European spacetweeps, led by DLR social media editor @HenningKrause, decided to start the new year with a new tweetup. More a networking event than a tweetup, it became the sequel to #SpaceKoelsch. Last September this was the pre-party to the ESA/DLR #Spacetweetup. Now the event in a typical Cologne beerhall became the main event itself. #SpaceKoelsch 2 was born!
With the date set to Saturday evening January 14th, a group of tweeps decided to turn the evening into a spacetweeps weekend, with a pre-party on Friday evening and an ad-hoc program during the day on Saturday. And again it was DLR’s Henning to jump forward and organize a perfect daytime spacetweeps excursion to two of Europe’s most famous radio telescopes, which happen to be near Cologne. A great start to a great new spaceyear! Here is a report of the event(s): (more…)
Stephanie L. Schierholz, Social Media Manager Photo Credit: NASA
SpaceTweeps for Schierholz!
Stephanie L. Schierholz (@Schierholz) is the Social Media Manager for NASA, the National Aeronautics and Space Administration, where she leads many of the agency’s innovative social media activities. Stephanie manages the agency’s @NASA Twitter account, with its 1.7 million followers, and primary Facebook page, with more than 700,00 fans. She coordinates the efforts of NASA public affairs teams to maintain these accounts. Stephanie ensures NASA remains engaged with its followers, including occasional Q&A sessions with astronauts, project specialists, scientists, and even NASA’s Deputy Administrator (@Lori_Garver).
Stephanie also coordinates with the social media managers and staff at NASA centers across the country. She leads ongoing and long-term planning efforts for NASA social media, supporting the challenging quest for resources to maximize the agency’s reach across multiple services.
Stephanie’s skill with emerging communication technologies has led NASA to establish strategic partnerships with services such as Gowalla, Foursquare, and SlideShare. Through Stephanie’s negotiation of these partnerships, she blazed a pioneer trail for NASA as the first government agency to use these platforms. Of particular note is the partnership with Foursquare, which NASA kicked off when astronaut Doug Wheelock (@Astro_Wheels), more than 220 miles above Earth, checked in to Foursquare aboard the International Space Station, unlocking the NASA Explorer badge that Earthlings now can earn by following NASA and checking in on Foursquare.
Although it cannot advertise, the space agency is legally bound by the 1958 National Aeronautics Space Act to seek the “widest practicable & appropriate dissemination of information concerning its activities and the results thereof.” Social media has proven to be a ideal tool for NASA, helping it meet the Act’s strict communication requirements. According to the L2 Digital IQ® Index: Public Sector, “NASA is the clear leader and is innovating on every platform.” As the agency’s strategic manager for social media initiatives, Stephanie charts the agency’s course and holds routine conference calls with the cadre of individuals responsible for public outreach within the agency.
Astronaut Doug Wheelock discusses his experiences living on the International Space Station during a tweetup at NASA HQ in Washington, D.C. (March 2011). Photo Credit: NASA/Paul E. Alers
Stephanie’s leadership and dedication have been instrumental to the growth and continuing success of NASA’s public outreach endeavors, in particular its @NASATweetup events. In January 2009, NASA began hosting “tweetups” for users of the social media service Twitter to provide them with VIP access to NASA facilities, speakers, and activities. Since 2010, Stephanie has taken the helm of these events at several locations across the agency, including space mission launches. To date, NASA has hosted 31 of these unique and inspiring public outreach events. Registration is open to anyone with a Twitter account, and each NASA Tweetup draws significant interest.
NASA held an incredible 17 NASA Tweetups, an average of more than one per month, in 2011. Stephanie directly supported at least one dozen of these tweetups as the primary liaison, on-site coordinator, and public point of contact. This is no small feat, considering most of the 2011 NASA Tweetup events supported spacecraft launches–logistically complex, multi-day events with a high probability of weather or other scheduling delays. The year also marked NASA’s “longest-ever tweetup” of 115 days–after repeated launch delays, the majority of the tweetup’s participants returned to see the Shuttle launch four months later. While the agency only planned to invite participants for the original launch opportunity, Stephanie advocated for their continual involvement that enabled many to see the launch from the historic press site.
NASA Tweetup participants stand at the launch clock, Thursday, Feb. 24, 2011, prior to the launch of space shuttle Discovery (STS-133) at Kennedy Space Center in Cape Canaveral, Florida. Photo Credit: NASA/Paul E. Alers
Invited to Germany in September 2011 by DLR and the European Space Agency (ESA), Stephanie led a presentation with NASA’s Space Operations Outreach Program Manager Beth Beck (@BethBeck); the presentation shares the origin of social media at NASA, where it is going, and some of the challenges:
More than 2,500 people from across the globe have attended a NASA Tweetup and shared the experience in real-time with their co-workers, friends, family members, and other followers. An entire community of NASA Tweetup alumni has formed around these events, establishing Facebook, LinkedIn, and Google+ groups and a community-owned and managed wiki for documenting and sharing tips, photos, videos, blog posts, and news media reports about NASA Tweetup activities.
The enthusiasm and dedication Stephanie brings to her communication and outreach activities, coupled with the inspirational nature of NASA Tweetup events, has led many alumni to seek opportunities to be more involved in public outreach, themselves. Alumni routinely hold speaking engagements at local schools to talk about STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math) topics, organize or attend aerospace-related conferences (ISDC, SpaceUp, etc.) and workshops, or become more politically active; a few alumni have even changed careers as a result of their involvement with NASA’s incredible social media and outreach activities.
I can personally attest to the level of commitment, professionalism, enthusiasm, and genuine concern Stephanie brings to bear in all her work. She has been instrumental in reaching out and embracing the public through NASA Tweetup events, numerous public speaking engagements (SxSW, L2 Social Graph, Ragan, and more) and other outreach activities. You don’t just have to take my word for it, though — here’s what some of my fellow SpaceTweeps have to say about Stephanie’s work in 2011:
@cygnusx112: Tom attended the MSL NASATweetup in late November for the launch of the Mars Science Laboratory, witnessing the start of the Mars Curiosity rover’s odyssey first-hand. The rover will land on Mars in August 2012.
Stephanie Schierholz deserves this [Best Social Media Manager] award. She does such a wonderful job and has impacted all of us so much….I was part of the Mars Curiosity Tweetup. Stephanie and her team gave up their Thanksgiving Holiday so that we could have the experience of a lifetime. When the launch date slipped a day, she had to reschedule all of the speakers and tour stops, which is no small feat. Even six weeks later I’m still a little overwhelmed at all that we got to see and experience and still processing it. The Tweetup ran smoothly and we were treated like royalty. I can never fully repay NASA and Stephanie and her team, but I can sure try by spreading the word to the world about all of the cool things that NASA is still doing.
@starlingLX: Alex attended the STS-135 Crew at NASA HQ tweetup in Washington D.C. in October.
Stephanie is a very exceptional individual and I owe one of the most exciting days of my life to her! [...] Although it was only a one hour event, it was worth the trip from Germany.
@AllanManangan: Allan joined the NASATweetup family in 2011 and has now attended 3 tweetups, including the Mars Science Laboratory launch from Florida and the NASA NPP launch from California. –
The 2011 JPL Tweetup was my first NASA Tweetup experience. I met Stephanie during one of the tours, but it was just a quick introduction, because I could tell how busy she was—if Stephanie was not on her mobile tweeting, then she was gently keeping us on course as we walked about JPL’s campus. On that day I began to understand her incredible work ethic.
The rest of the year supported and strengthened my respect for Stephanie. [...] NASA’s social media teams have truly taken steps towards making space more accessible for so many of us. They are just as important as NASA’s administrators, astronauts, and scientists. Stephanie Schierholz is one of the best and I support her nomination all the way.
@MTClemente: Mark also joined the NASATweetup family in 2011 and has logged a total of 3 tweetups. You may be sensing a trend here–NASATweetups are so unique and inspiring, they’re habit-forming!
I have attended three NASATweetups. The first one was for Mars Curiosity at JPL [2011 JPL Tweetup] – AWESOME! The second one would never have happened without Stephanie. I was an alternate for the final Shuttle launch – STS-135. On launch day, Stephanie allowed the alternates that made the trip down to Florida to attend. It was my first Shuttle launch and my very last chance to see one. I can never thank her enough for allowing me that opportunity and I will be forever grateful to her for it. My third tweetup was the launch of Mars Science Laboratory and Curiosity. It was a wonderful opportunity (haha) to see the launch of the rover that I was able to visit while still in the clean room. I will never be able to express in words how grateful I am to everyone on the NASATweetup teams that made these opportunities possible for me and so many others. But I’m especially grateful to Stephanie for giving me that once in a life time chance to see the final shuttle launch.
@BigE54: Elliot attended the GRAIL NASATweetup for the launch of the twin lunar-bound spacecraft in September. NASATweetup participants viewed the launch near Kennedy Space Center in Florida. –
I have some mobility issues that really acted up while I was there. Stephanie went well up and beyond in helping me out. She actually drove me back from the first launch attempt in her own car, which turned into quite a memorable ride, as Neil deGrasse Tyson (@NeilTyson) was also a passenger. She also arranged for me to drive to the next launch attempt in my own car, rather than the bus. Her extraordinary efforts on my behalf shows her level of caring on a personal level for the participants of these tweetups, and shows to me just the kind of person she is.
@therealDJflux: Andy’s first NASATweetup was NASA’s longest, but I’ll let him tell the story. He’s also a veteran of the GRAIL and STS-135 Crew at NASA HQ tweetups, both of which were also in 2011.
I am an alumnus of the STS-133 NASA Tweetup- The Never-ending Tweetup. 115 days of pure joy. If any Tweetup shows Stephanie’s commitment, hard work, and dedication as NASA’s Social Media Manager and to making NASA Tweetup a success, I believe it’s 133. Adjusting schedules and guests for us Tweeps for over 6 days for the first launch attempt in November 2010 and then inviting us to return in February 2011 with more speakers and tours and the final launch of [Space Shuttle] Discovery. It was just amazing work. 133 changed my life. I have, what have become, some lifelong friends as a result and I start class this coming Tuesday to complete my Bachelors degree in hopes of becoming an Astronaut Candidate and being selected to the Astronaut Corps someday soonish.
@And_Tonic: “Gin” joined the NASATweetup family in August, attending the launch of the Jupiter-bound Juno spacecraft at the Juno Tweetup.
It is hard to imagine the logistics power it takes for Stephanie and her team to get everything and everyone moving forward, especially for something as flexible as a launch. Also, she keeps us all engaged well after our individual tweet ups. I also think Stephanie is amazing at sharing her best practices with others, whether it be other countries’ space agencies or other U.S. federal agencies looking at improving their social media presence. She is not only a leader in space and science but also in government communication and openness.
@MaryBethHunt: Mary attended the STS-134 NASATweetup for the final launch of Space Shuttle Endeavour. The launch was scheduled for April 29, but was delayed to May 16 due to inclement weather and a subsequent mechanical problem.
We had a tornado siren and many of us were “stuck” in the press room. Stephanie was in there, too, and talked to us about how the Tweet-up worked, etc. I was very impressed with the whole Tweet-up experience, and by supporting Stephanie, I feel like I’m supporting NASA, too. We met so many fabulous people who worked there. It was such a special and memorable experience for me.
Stephanie exemplifies what it means to be the best in social media–she consistently goes above and beyond to serve NASA and the SpaceTweep community in everything she does. It is our honor to nominate Stephanie Schierholz for the Best Social Media Manager Shorty Industry Award.
PostScript (February 5, 2012):
If you still need convincing, just take a look at @Storify of the incredible community response to Stephanie’s announcement on January 30, 2012, that she is seeking a new adventure–leaving @NASA and moving to Boston to work at @Raytheon.
